Excavating apparatus.



N 894 713. PATENTED JULY 28, 1908.

0 A c. E. WYMAN.

EXGAVATING APPARATUS. A

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

APPLICATION FILED JAN; 15, 1908.

vwentoz 5%2220/2.

m aw PATENTED JULY 28, 1908. (LE. WYMAN. A EXGAVATING APPARATUS.

AlfPLIUATION FILED JAN. 15, 1908. I 3 HE T 2 (fie/wi m No.. 894 71a. PATENTED JULY 28 1908 0. E. WYMALL Y EXGAVATING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATI-ON FILED. JAN. 15, 1908. 3 SHEETS SHEET 3.

vwentoz Witnesses CHARLES E. WYMAN, or PEKIN, INDIANA.

EXCAVATING APPARATUS.

T all whom it may concern:

- employment in Be it known that 1, CHARLES E. WYMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pekin, in the county of Washington and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Excavating Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to excavating apparatus to be employed for the cutting of canals, ditches, or the like, or for use in railroad grading, and is further designed for the recovery of precious metals, especially in placer deposits which are dry or wholly or partly submerged.

The principal object of the invention is to. provide an excavating apparatus in which a revoluble excavating member is arranged at the front of the machine, and is designed to dig its way through the material to be excavated and form a clear path of a width greater than that of the machine proper, so

that the body of the machine may readily travel in the out which has been made, or in case of digging or dredging under water a channel may be formed for the passage of the boat or float on which the excavating apparatus is carried.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel form of excavating drum in which a hollow revoluble drum is rovided with a plurality of excavating b ades or shovels which carry the dirt, gravel or other material up to a point near the top of the drum, and then deposit the same on an endless conveyer that extends within the drum, the conveyer serving to carry the material to any desired .point of discharge, and being so arranged as to convey the cuttings to a distant point, where the machine is used for canal or railroad work, or where the device is employed in placer mining, the material may be conveyed to any suitable washing or separating means on the frame or float.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel form of apparatus arranged to cut its: way through the material, and which is provided with suitable means 'for the removal of large obstructions, such as rocks, or trees, which could not be ordinarily handled by the excavating devices proper.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this type which, when used for submarine placer work, will dig up the surface material to any desired depth, and will loosen the gold bearing clay or sand to such an extent that it may be Specification of Letters Patent Application filed January 16, 1908. Serial No. 410,985.

Patented July 28, 1908.

sucked'up to 'the gold separating mechanism by the employment of a suitable pump or similar device.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafter appear, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, here inafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, size and m'nor details of the structure may be made Without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings :-Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of an excavating verse sectional view of the same on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the view being on an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a transverse section through one of the buckets and showing a portion ofone of the rims and racks in elevation. Fig. 4 is a side elevation showing the device applied to a float.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Where the apparatus is used on land, a wheeledsupporting frame 10 is preferably employed, and this frame may be of any desired construction and provided with any suitable propelling means. In the resent instance the frame includes a'suitab e platform-11, and said frame is mounted at the rear of a truck 12, while at the front end of the frame is mounted the rotary excavating drum 15, the drum being arranged to make a cut ofgreater width than the frame, so that the latter may freely follow in the cut without the necessity of digging at the sides. The forward end of the drum may be in part supported and may be vertically adjusted on a roller 16 that is mounted in bearings at the forward end of a frame 17 that is pivoted to housings 18 depending from the main frame. The forward end of the frame 17 is connected to the main frame by adjustable screw bolts 19 by which the roller or wheels 16 may be raised or lowered for the purpose of altering the depth of cut.

Mounted on the frame is a motor 20 which may be of any construction, and, in the pres machine constructed in accordance wlth the invention. Fig. 2 1s a transand the inner ternal combustion engine; This engine is employed for the purpose of operating the excavating drum, and the endless convey'er or conveyers, and, if desired, it may be connected to propelling mechanism for feeding the excavator forward, although any desired form of feeding mechanism may be used for the purpose.

The forward sill members 21 of the main frame serve as sup orts for a depending auxiliary frame 22 tiat is of approximately rectangular form, and extends within the excavating drum 15, and at each of the four corners of the frame 22 are arranged bearings for the support of transversely disposed shafts 23, 24, 25 and 26, and at each end of each shaft is a roller or disk 27 having a smooth circular periphery, these rollers and disks serving as a guiding and supporting means for the excavating drum. Each disk or wheel is further provided with a flange that bears against the inner face of the rim 28 at each end of the drum, for the purpose of preventing endwise movement of said drum.

The drum comprises a pair of rims 28 connected by longitudinally disposed bars 30, edge of each rim is cut to form an annular rack 31, these racks intermeshing with pinions 32 that are secured to the shaft 23, the construction of the racks and pinions at each end of the drum being uniform, so that the drum will be maintained in proper position.

Secured to and forming a part of the drum are excavating buckets 33, these being in the form of shovels that project in approximately tangential directions from the periphery of the drum and are provided with curved or flanged rear edges over which the excavated material falls on to an endless conveyer 34, as the shovels near the top of the drum. Each shovel is provided with a plurality of projecting teeth 35 which serve to loosen u the ground and materially assist in the digging operation. The digging edge of the shovels are of a length slightly greater than the drum pro er, so that the path which is cut will be su icient to permit the passage of the following portion of the machine.

The endless conveyer 34 may be of any ordinary form, and preferably is of the bucket type and rovided at each edge with a link be t, the ink belts passing over sprocket wheels 37, 38. The sprocket wheels 37 are carried by a shaft 39 that is mounted in bearings supported by the inner frame 22, while the sprocket wheels 38 are carried by a shaft 40 that is supported by brackets 41 projecting from said frame. The shaft 40, also, carries a bevel gear 42 intermeshing with a bevel gear 43 on the shaft 23, and at the opposite end of said shaft 23 is a sprocket wheel 45 that is connected by a link belt 46 to a suitable sprocket wheel on or connected to the engine 20.

scow 70, as indicated in Fig.

from the engine or other 7 The endless conveyor 34 illustrated in Fig. 2 is merely typical, and it may be made of any length and guided in any direction for the purpose of dumping the material at any point. In the present instance it may be employed for feeding the material directly in to cars or carts, or it may dump such material on an auxiliary conveyer arranged at one side of the machine.

At the front of the main, frame is a mast 50 supported by a brace 51 and carrying a frame 52. The frame is provided with a. block and tackle 53, the tackle being arranged to be wound on a drum 54 that is mounted in the same shaft with a friction disk 55 that may be rotated from the engine.

The block and tackle may be employed for the purpose of lifting trees, rocks or other obstructions from the path of the excavator, or where the ground is tackle may serve as a means for anchoring the forward portion of the machine to the ground, so asto keep the excavating drum down to its work.

WVhen the machine is traveling to and from the field of operation, the excavating drum may be utilized as a. traction wheel for the purpose of propelling the machine, the roller or wheels 16 being first adjusted so as to raise the excavating drum and the buckets are fitted or filled with timbers (not shown) which will engage at the edges the surface of the roadway.

When the apparatus is used for dredging or in the digging of placer deposits submerged, or partly submerged, or in other places where the ground is of a swampy nature, the apparatus is mounted on a float or 4. In this case a strong shaft 71 is arranged transversely of the scow near the forward end thereof and on this shaft are pivoted arms 72, corresponding to the forwardly extended members of the main frame, and these arms carry the rectangular frame 22 which supports the excavating drum 15. The pivoted. frame 72 carries a bail 74 which may be turned up to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4, and hooked on to the block and tackle, so that the frame and excavating drum as a whole .t.

may be elevated, while traveling to and from the operating point, or in case it becomes necessary to elevate the drum over an obstructing rock or the like.

The small endless carrier which delivers the material from the interior of the drum is arranged to discharge such material to a see ond carrier 75, the outer end of which is carried by sprocket wheels 76 on a shaft 77 that is mounted in hangers 78 depending from the pivoted frame 72. The rear end of the carrier is supported on sprocket wheels 79 which are mounted 011 the shaft 7]., and these sprocket wheels or the shaft may be rotated source of power exceptionally hard thedistance below the through a link belt 80, so that the material may be carried to a separator 82 on the scow, the separator being in the form of a'rifiie or other well known apparatus employed 'in placer mining for the recovery of precious metals. As the excavating drum works, it will cut a channel in which the scow may float, and the scow may be propelled by a stern wheel or by any other suitable mechanism.

When employed for placer mining, the excavator will not cut down to a dead rock, but will loosen the material below the line of cut, inasmuch as the diggin teeth will pass some edges of the shovels. The sand or other gold bearing earth will thus be loosened and stirred up, so that it may be conveniently raised by means of a suction pump 85, the inlet 86 of the pump being arranged close to the rear of the excavator drum, while the discharge of the pump leads to the riflle or other separator 82.

Where the apparatus is mounted on a float or scow, it may be conveniently used for the cutting of drainage channels or ditches in swampy ground, or in other places where the soil is not firm enough weight of the land machine.

I claim 2-- 1. In an excavator, a revoluble digging drum, a plurality of buckets or shovels carried by the drum,

to' support the of said buckets or shovels.

2. In an excavator, the combination with a revoluble digging drum, of a drum supporting member, and a derrick carried by said memof the frame and and a drum supporting or j carrying frame of a width less than the length her at a point adjacent the drum and arranged to operate in advance of'the drum for the removal of obstructions, said derrick serving also as ameans for holding the drum down in digging position.

3. In a machine of the class described, a wheeled frame, a revoluble digging drum arranged at one end of the frame, said drum serving as a traction device during the movement of the excavator to and from working position, and means for actuating said drum.

4. In a machine of the class described, a

wheeled frame, a drum arranged at one end provided with digging shovels or buckets, a supporting roller arranged to the rear of the drum, and means for effecting vertical adjustment of the roller to thereby vary the depth of cut of the drum.

5. In a machine of the class described, a

platform, a truck supporting the same, a

frame fixedly connected to and depending from the platform and back of the truck, a revoluble digging drum carried by the frame, said drum serving as a traction device during the movement of the machine to and from working position, means for actuating the drum, and means for adjusting the platform toward or from the ground.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have heretov affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES E. WYMAN.

Witnesses:

CHARLES M. CLINTooK, FRANK I-I. RIESTER. 

